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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28035036">Retail Therapy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysimachia/pseuds/lysimachia'>lysimachia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Time (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Retail, F/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:49:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,733</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28035036</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysimachia/pseuds/lysimachia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle is a retail worker with a crush on district manager Mr Gold. When he visits for an inspection, it quickly gets personal...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Retail Therapy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Reposting some very old fic from Tumblr (previously daylilium on Tumblr)</p><p>And I miraculously regained access to my Tumblr! Hit me up at https://lysi-machia.tumblr.com/ :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Belle French heaved a sigh, straightening up and wiping her brow. It was another blisteringly hot day at Nolan’s Tools &amp; Supplies, and once again the air conditioner had decided to break down. She’d actually been in the middle of a conversation with a customer when she’d heard the familiar whirr peter out, click a few times in rapid succession and then die; she’d closed her eyes and swore under her breath. Thankfully, nice old Mr Geppetto from the town over had only given her a sympathetic smile and a pat to the shoulder.</p><p>“Ruby!” she yelled as she ventured out into the overflowing stockroom. <em>Jesus</em>. If it seemed hot on the floor, it was like a sauna in here. “Rubes? The air conditioner’s broken again!”</p><p>Ruby popped her head up from behind a stack of boxes, giving her friend a scathing look. “Really? Gee, Belle, me and the twelve litres of sweat on my back hadn’t noticed.” She staggered around to meet her, and Belle darted forward to help her with the box she was hefting. Today’s delivery of replacement razor blades, she noted.</p><p>Together, they heaved the box up one of the rickety ladders and shoved it onto a high shelf. Ruby jumped off the ladder and stepped back, eyeing it warily.</p><p>“Y’know, I reckon this one’s on its way out,” she mused, giving the ladder a shake. It rattled dangerously, and Belle sighed.</p><p>“Well, we’re gonna have to break out the duct tape and make do. Booth’s not letting us have new store supplies for at least the next six months.”</p><p>Ruby’s hair whipped her in the face as she shot her head around to gape at her friend. “Six months? Jesus, that asshole!” She gave the ladder a kick, then glanced around warily. “He’s not here, is he?”</p><p>Belle chuckled, leading the other girl into the break room. “He’s out for lunch. Still.” She glanced up at the clock with a frown; August had been gone for almost two hours, and their district manager would be here for the inspection any minute now.</p><p>Ruby followed Belle’s eyes to the clock, and shrugged. “Well, maybe if he’s not here when Gold shows up, he’ll finally figure out what an ass he is.” She scrutinised her friend closely, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “You should say something, Belle. He likes you.”</p><p>Belle felt her face flushing even as she headed to the office. “Gold doesn’t like me any more than he likes anyone else, Rubes. Go on, you can take over for me on customer service, I’ll finish up the delivery.” She knew how much Ruby hated being stuck out in the overheated stockroom, and smiled as the other girl hugged her hard from behind.</p><p>“Oh, you’re a lifesaver, Belle. You should be running this place, y’know!”</p><p>Belle’s smile turned bittersweet as she sorted through the paperwork, hearing Ruby heading out onto the floor and immediately greeting a customer. The other girl was wasted in the stockroom; she was naturally disorganised and hated being cooped up, but flourished in customer service, where she could help people more directly. Conversely, fumbling Archie Hopper was a thousand times more relaxed – and therefore more productive – when kept far away from demanding customers.</p><p>She heaved a sigh, stretching out her arms and rubbing her neck.</p><p>“Tired already, Miss French?”</p><p>She jumped out of her skin, her hand flying to her chest even as she let out a breathless laugh. “Oh! Mr Gold – I’m sorry, I didn’t even hear you come in.”</p><p>Gold, standing in the doorway of the office with both hands resting demurely on his cane, inclined his head, his eyes sparkling. “I’m terribly sorry for frightening you.”</p><p>Belle narrowed her eyes at him, smirking. “You didn’t frighten me. Only startled.”</p><p>She gestured for him to take a seat across from her, coming around the desk to perch next to him. She hoped she wasn’t sweating too badly, but kept her distance just in case. It really wasn’t fair that he should look so well put together, dressed as always in an impeccable suit, showing no signs that the unseasonable heat was bothering him. She was pretty sure the extra time she’d taken with her hair and makeup that morning had been wasted the second she stepped into the store.</p><p>She checked her watch again, frowning.  “I’m sorry, Mr Booth’s…a little indisposed. Hopefully I can get things started, and he can take over when he comes back?”</p><p>Gold’s eyes darkened a little as he examined the desk in front of him. “Ah. Indisposed with his lunch, I take it?”</p><p>Belle ducked her head, biting her lip. She hated lying to Mr Gold, even a tiny white lie, but she couldn’t very well drop her boss into trouble with the district manager. “I think maybe he got the times for your visit mixed up.”</p><p>Gold nodded wordlessly, his eyes rising to look at her. He was silent for a long moment before he spoke again.</p><p>“Miss French – Belle. Are you happy here?”</p><p>Belle quirked her head to one side, feeling suddenly short of breath. “I…what do you mean?”</p><p>“Exactly what I said,” he replied calmly. “Are you happy with your job?”</p><p><em>Why was he asking that? Was he about to fire her?</em> “I – I’m not unhappy, Mr Gold.”</p><p>He seemed to consider her words, his eyes drifting away from her face to fix on some point on the wall behind her. “I see.” He rose abruptly, reaching out to clasp her hand in a brief handshake.</p><p>Belle was thrown. “Mr Gold? Are…did you not want to look over the quarterly reports?” She gestured vaguely to the paperwork on the desk.</p><p>He gave them a brief glance, then shook his head. “No, I think not. It was nice seeing you again, Miss French.”</p><p>He left without another word, and Belle was left standing alone in the office, slightly dumbstruck.</p><p>What just happened?</p><p>***</p><p>“French!”</p><p>Belle sighed, sliding down the ladder expertly. She was barely a third of the way through the delivery, and it was getting towards the end of the day. The sweltering heat wasn’t helping much, either. She really didn’t need Booth’s last-name-basis attitude right now.</p><p>“What’s up, boss?” she replied tersely, leaning against the ladder with one hand.</p><p>Booth strode furiously towards her. “You said Gold wasn’t angry!”</p><p>Taken aback, Belle blinked hard. “I – he wasn’t. He wasn’t! He just talked to me a for a few minutes, and then left. He wasn’t angry at all!”</p><p>“And what did you say to him?” Booth’s face was almost turning purple, he was so infuriated. Belle clenched the ladder a little tighter. “What did you say?! Because I just got fired, French, they want me out by the end of the week! What did you<em> say</em> to him?!”</p><p>Belle’s mouth fell open, just as Ruby stormed into the stockroom. “Woah, Mr Booth, the customers can here you out there!”</p><p>“Fuck the customers!” Booth exploded, wrenching his hands in the air. “Fuck them! Fuck the lot of you! I can’t <em>believe</em> this!”</p><p>He stormed back into the office, and the girls could hear him bashing around for another ten minutes, turning the air blue with his language, before he grabbed his coat and exited through the back door. They were still standing motionless, gaping at each other, when they heard the roar of his engine fading away.</p><p>Ruby was the first to speak. “Ho. Lee. <em>Shit</em>.”</p><p>Breathlessly, Belle burst into giggles, slapping her hand over her mouth in horror. “Oh my god, it’s <em>not</em> funny.”</p><p>Ruby laughed aloud, grabbing Belle and pulling her in for a quick hug. “Oh, Belle, it’s plenty funny! Booth’s gone, this is fucking fabulous!” She twirled around a little, laughing all the while, and Belle couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. “Oh – we should go out to celebrate! I’ll ask Archie,” she added, with a blush.</p><p>Belle shook her head, still smiling. “I can’t, Rubes, I’ve got to get this finished.” She gestured around at the remaining delivery stock. Ruby’s face fell.</p><p>“Oh, well – I’ll stay, help you get finished up.”</p><p>Belle couldn’t help but roll her eyes, and she firmly grabbed Ruby by the shoulders, steering her out onto the shop floor. “Go out there and give Archie the good news, and inform him that he is to pick you up at 8. Have a good time, Ruby.”</p><p>Her friend gave her another fierce hug and a peck on the cheek. “You’re the best, Belle. Don’t stay too late, you hear me?” She fluffed her hair a little and straightened her shirt before darting off.</p><p>***</p><p>Belle groaned, rubbing her back as best she could through her sweat-soaked shirt. It was two hours past closing, and she still had at least an hour’s work ahead of her. The heat didn’t seem to be letting up, either; if anything, it was just getting hotter. Decided she deserved a five-minute break, she heading to the fridge in the break room, holding the door open and just standing in front of it. She relaxed there for a moment, her thoughts drifting back to her odd conversation with Mr Gold.</p><p>The thought had occurred to her, more than once since she’d sent the others home, that he’d fired Booth because of her. She’d done her best to cover for his transgressions in the past, but Gold wasn’t an idiot; far from it. He must have seen how much Booth irked her, and how, as his de facto second-in-command, she was forced to pick up the slack he left behind.</p><p>She should feel a lot more guilty than she did. In truth, the idea of Gold acting out of any concern for her, even a purely professional one, was the most exciting thought she’d had in a long time.</p><p>With a sigh, she pulled a cold bottle of water from the fridge and reluctantly closed the door. <em>Focus, Belle</em>, she told herself sternly. <em>You can fantasise about Gold all you want when you get home, but this delivery isn’t going to unpack itself.</em></p><p> Taking a long sip of water, she headed back out into the stockroom and, on raising her eyes to scrutinize her remaining work, let out a very unladylike yelp.</p><p>Mr Gold raised his eyebrows, holding his hands up in mock-surrender. “I seem to be startling you a lot today, dearie. I do apologise.”</p><p>For a second, she couldn’t seem to form words, every half-thought she had dying long before it reached her lips. Gold was standing next to the remaining boxes, his suit jacket flung haphazardly onto an empty shelf and his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. <em>His top button’s undone</em>, Belle noticed, swallowing hard.</p><p>“Wh-what are you doing here?” she asked slowly.</p><p>He examined the boxes a little closer, tearing the top one open to start pulling out the contents; hammers, as it turned out. “I was passing, and I saw that the light was still on. I came in to check on you.” He turned to her then, a small smile on his face. He looked years younger when he smiled. “Technically, I could reprimand you for this.”</p><p><em>How would you reprimand me, Mr Gold?</em> Belle batted the voice away fiercely, coming to stand in front of him and folding her arms in front of her chest instead. “I work late all the time, Mr Gold, and I checked, I’m perfectly within my rights to stay as late as I want, as long as I’m not doing anything I wouldn’t do in normal working hours.”</p><p>Gold inclined his head, smirking. “Indeed. But you are using a ladder and lifting heavy boxes without anyone else in the building. I think that would definitely count as reckless behaviour…practically inviting an accident.”</p><p>Belle ducked her head, her cheeks warming. “Well…I didn’t want to make anyone else stay.”</p><p>Gold chuckled a little. “Too nice for your own good,” he murmured, more to himself than to her, it seemed. He turned away abruptly, heaving some more hammers out of the box. “How about I tag these, and pass them up to you?”</p><p>Belle hesitated. She wanted to tell him no, that she didn’t want him to strain his leg, but there didn’t seem to be a way to phrase that delicately. “I don’t…can the district manager even help with deliveries, anymore?”</p><p>His eyes sparkled as he tagged the first hammer, passing it to her. “I started out as a shop assistant, dearie. I haven’t quite forgotten the basics.”</p><p>Belle giggled, hopping up the ladder and pulling out a box for the hammers. Together, they made quick work of it, and the next box (lightbulbs), and the next (drill bits). Their hands brushed against each other with increasing frequency as they worked, mostly in silence, occasionally chatting about little things – the heatwave, the new stock ordered in by head management, unimportant things that nonetheless had Belle’s heart pounding furiously in her chest. She was sure her face was flushed from the heat, and she could feel her hair sticking to the back of her neck. There were tiny beads of sweat along his brow too, and he lifted his forearm to dab them away. Belle swallowed hard.</p><p>“Thank you,” she said softly, leaning on the top of the ladder and gazing down at him. “It’s…really great of you, to do this.” She ducked her head, smiling. “No offence, but not a lot of managers are willing to do a shop assistant’s job.”</p><p>Gold chuckled. “Oh, no offence taken, my dear.” Belle knew he used those endearments with everyone, but her heart did a little skip in her chest whenever he used them with her anyway. “I try never to forget where I came from.”</p><p>Belle smiled. “See, I think that’s –”</p><p>The rest of her sentence was forgotten as she felt the ladder buckle underneath her, one of the legs snapping and her entire body being jerked abruptly to the side. She raised her arm, bracing herself for the hard stockroom floor.</p><p>It never came.</p><p>Instead, she collided with a warm body, Gold catching her in his arms and nearly staggering off balance by her sudden weight. He righted himself, though, his arms firmly around her waist and underneath her legs.</p><p>She gripped tightly onto his shoulders, breathing heavily. Her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest. His eyes flickered up and down her body, meeting with her eyes only briefly.</p><p>“Are you alright?” His voice was low and ragged. It sent a shiver through Belle’s entire body.</p><p>“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes. I’m fine.”</p><p>He set her down gently, his hands running up and down her arms as if checking for injury.</p><p>“Thank you,” she whispered.</p><p>Slowly, his hands came up to cup her face softly, tilting her chin up so he could meet her gaze. He was closer to her than he’d ever been. She felt her breath catch in her throat.</p><p>Before she could stop herself, she’d leaned up and captured his mouth with own, planting a soft kiss there, and just barely brushing her tongue along his bottom lip. He didn’t move, and for a breathtaking moment she thought he wasn’t going to.</p><p>Then, in a swift, bold movement, his hands left her face and shot down to encircle her waist, yanking her firmly against him as he caught her mouth again, sliding his tongue expertly against her own. Belle groaned, the sound muffled against his lips; Gold pulled away a little and smirked before carrying on. He kissed her reverently, exploring every crevice of her mouth slowly, delicately at first until he found the spots that made her moan deep in her throat and push closer into him, which he teased mercilessly with his tongue.</p><p>Belle’s hands went to his hair, carding her fingers through it and tugging sharply. He wrenched his mouth from hers with a hiss, and she was just about to apologise when he went for her throat, kissing and sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin there. Belle let her hands explore his back and shoulders, but kept returning to his hair, loving the desperate sounds he made against her skin when she pulled at it.</p><p>Soon, he had her pressed up against the shelves, and Belle had wrapped one of her legs as high as she could around his hip. He ground his body against hers, and she let out a wrenching gasp – she needed him a lot closer, now.</p><p>Pushing him away, she coaxed him to the hard floor with her, scrabbling at the buttons on his shirt and managing to tear more than one clean off. He seemed to like her like this – a little wild, a little uncontrolled – as he made a keening sound in his throat as she practically tore the shirt off his shoulders, her fingers instantly going to explore his bare chest. She raked her nails over him, and he bucked his hips, growling; he had her on her back in a second, yanking her shirt over her head and making short work of the fastenings on her pants.</p><p>She returned the favour quickly, but she barely got her fingertips under the waistband of his boxers before he seized her wrists, pinning them above her head with one hand as he trailed the other down her chest, following his every move with his lips. She gasped and thrashed underneath him; he was barely brushing over her skin, trailing fingertips and tongue across the sensitive places at the sides of her breasts, and she was certain he knew exactly how much he was torturing her.</p><p>He removed her bra with a single deft motion, throwing it aside as he brushed his mouth over her breasts, circling them with the very tip of his tongue, and carefully avoiding her peaked nipples. She moaned, arching her back and wrestling against the tight grip he had on her wrists. He took his mouth away instantly, rising up to hover just above her, lifting both hands to stroke her raised arms smoothly.</p><p>“Now, now, dearie,” he murmured, pressing tiny kisses along her jawline. “Be patient. I’ve been dreaming of having you like this for months.”</p><p>Belle gasped again, trying vainly to bring her hips in contact with his. “Gold…”</p><p>“Adrian,” he said softly against her skin.</p><p>“Adrian,” she breathed, and he let out a groan.</p><p>“I’ve dreamed of you,” he said breathlessly. “Saying my name like that.” He drew his face upwards and claimed her mouth again, slower and more erotically than Belle had ever been kissed. Her nipples were taut, almost painfully so, and she ached to have him closer. She reached up, kissing him hard.</p><p>“Please,” she breathed, almost unable to say anything else. “<em>Please</em>.”</p><p>He smiled, and began kissing his way down her neck. “Stay like this, darling,” he murmured. “Let me…<em>let me</em>.”</p><p>Belle lay back against the hard floor, looking him straight in the eye, her chest heaving from her deep breaths. Slowly, she nodded, knotting his fingers together and planting her hands firmly to the floor.</p><p>He trailed kisses down her throat, her chest, her stomach, dragging his fingers up and down her sides restlessly. His mouth found her breasts, and she gasped, arching up into him. He didn’t stop her this time, teasing one with his clever fingertips while circling her other nipple with his tongue, dragging the flat of it over her before trapping her between his teeth. He repeated the motions again and again, switching between her breasts and kissing them over and over again.</p><p>She thought she might lose her mind if she didn’t have him soon, but she didn’t want to ruin the pace that he’d set. Gently, she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his thighs and thrusting up slowly against him, alleviating some of the aching pressure between her legs. Gold groaned, reaching down to slide her underwear down her legs, kissing them feverishly as he went. Unable to stand it much longer, Belle bucked her hips upwards.</p><p>“Please, God, Adrian, please…”</p><p>By the time he kissed his way back up her body towards her mouth, covering her form with his own, he was as naked as she was. She ran her hands greedily over his back, grasping at his shoulders as she attacked his mouth with her tongue. She wrapped her legs around his waist, revelling in his deep groan as he felt her heat for the first time.</p><p>When he was finally inside her, it was all she could do not to scream out loud. She matched his every thrust with her own, the sensation of him deep inside her drawing noises out of she’d be embarrassed to admit she ever made. She felt her orgasm building far too quickly, and she knew he wasn’t going to last much longer either, as his movements grew more erratic and his thrusts deeper and more urgent.</p><p>She dug her fingernails into his back as she came, her head slamming back against the hard floor and her ankles digging in to the small of his back. Everything seemed to disappear; the only things that existed in the world were the feeling of him inside of her, and the hard floor underneath her.</p><p>When her breathing had evened out and her eyes fluttered open, she was snuggled securely into his side, his hand tracing lazy patterns into her back. A thought occurred to her, and she couldn’t stop herself giggling, muffling the sound against his skin.</p><p>He nudged her with his shoulder, smiling inquisitively down at her. “What?”</p><p>She buried her face in his chest, reaching around him to draped her arm around his waist. “I was just thinking how I could reprimand you for this,” she murmured, dropping soft kisses to his skin.</p><p>“Oh, yes?” he mused, dragging one hand slowly through her hair. Belle hummed in response. “But, Miss French, as the manager of this district I’m well within my rights to stay after-hours in any of our stores, for as long as I want.”</p><p>Belle smiled. “Only if you’re not doing anything you wouldn’t do during work hours,” she whispered, leaning up to kiss him properly.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows a mischievous grin spreading over his face as his hand swept lower over her body. “And who says I wasn’t?”</p>
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